Black Carpet Beetle

Identification, habits and tips for control of the Black Carpet Beetle, a
beetle that falls into a group of pests known as fabric
pests. This group includes different species of carpet or
furniture beetles as well as clothes moths. Carpet beetles (a group that
includes Varied Carpet Beetle, Black Carpet Beetle and Furniture Carpet Beetle)
are believed to be responsible for more damage than clothes
moths.

Fabric pests have one particular thing in common - they are household and
warehouse pests that have the ability to digest keratin. As mentioned
above, the group of beetles known as carpet beetles do more damage than clothes
moths. Black Carpet Beetles are not only more common than other carpet
beetles in the United States but they also do more damage than the others in its
particular group.

As you can assume by its name, this beetle has a black color when it
matures to its adult stage. Damage to materials can be blamed on the
larval stage of this fabric pest. The Black Carpet Beetle larvae consume
certain parts of dead animals including horns, hair, hide and fur. Known
as general feeders these beetles are not strictly limited to eating only parts
of dead animals. The other foods they prefer are what make them unwanted
in our homes - grains, nuts, cereals and cotton products.

Control of the black carpet beetle involve four important steps. The
first step in carpet beetle elimination is a thorough inspection of the entire
structure. The larvae and pupal stages of this bug can often be found in
little nooks and crevices where normal household dust, lint and debris
gather. The best examples would be areas between carpets and baseboards as
well as hidden areas of sofas and other upholstered furniture. Your next
step is to thoroughly clean and vacuum any area where you have seen or suspect
beetle infestations. These same areas will be treated in the last two
steps of your beetle extermination program.
Any flooring or upholstered furniture suspected of harboring fabric pests should
be sprayed with an odorless, non-staining indoor product that does not leave
harmful residues for people or pets. We have had best results using Suspend
SC when spraying for carpet beetles, clothes moths, fleas, ticks and other
indoor pests. Suspend SC is one of the pest
control items you will find in our Clothes
Moth Kit. The Clothes Moth Kit contains everything needed to control
clothes moths or carpet beetles.
The final step is just as important as the previous steps but is the one that
most people tend to eliminate. The failure to implement this last tool
usually means failure to control the pest. Any possible crack, crevice or
seam in carpets, rugs, cushions and other parts of furniture should be treated
with Drione Dust. This is an odorless
product often used by professionals in the control of fabric pests, spiders,
roaches, ants and ticks. Using a good bellows duster, apply small amounts
of Drione Dust to the areas where your spray solution will not properly reach
beetle larvae. This dust application is the final blow to the bug
infestation that they cannot escape. For easy application of your product,
use a Crusader bellows duster. This dust
applicator is small enough to hold and operate with one hand and is not
complicated to use.

All of the products mentioned are contained in the Clothes
Moth Kit mentioned earlier in this article. This kit has enough
product to control most pests (bugs, spiders, fleas, ticks, roaches, ants,
carpenter ants, etc.) around your home for a long time.